Poverty, Social Work and Social Justice

Abstract

The concept of social justice has become a common part of the political lexicon in recent years, with New Labour identifying it as a key goal of its social strategy. In this article, I set out my understanding of what the elements of a social justice programme should look like and apply it to the performance of the New Labour government in the policy area which has traditionally presented a major challenge to social workers, the issue of poverty. Finally, I raise some questions about what this analysis means for the future role of social work shaped by values of social justice.